Private Hire Drivers’ Topographical Assessment (2)

David Kurten: How many candidates have re-taken the Private Hire Drivers’ Topographical Assessment and how many have failed on re-taking it?

The Mayor: From October 2016 to February 2019, Transport for London carried out 12,300 topographical re-tests for persons applying for a London private hire vehicle driver’s licence and, of these, 6,448 failed.

Twelve-year age limit for taxis (3)

David Kurten: If you impose a 12-year age limit on London’s taxis, how many drivers do you expect will be owners; how many will rent; how many part-time; or doubled?

The Mayor: The proposals to reduce emissions from the taxi fleet, including a reduction to the taxi age limit, are subject to an ongoing public consultation. Based on analysis of taxi vehicle owners’ postcode data, Transport for London (TfL) believes that the taxi fleet is currently split roughly equally between driver-owned and fleet-owned vehicles. Data is not available to enable TfL to identify part-time drivers or numbers of drivers who share vehicles.
As part of the consultation on reducing the maximum age limits for taxis, TfL has undertaken an impact assessment which considers the impact on both driver-owned and fleet-owned vehicles. Details of the consultation, including the integrated impact assessment, is available online: https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tph/taxi-age-limits.

Knowledge of London (3)

David Kurten: Is the Mayor aware that it currently takes longer to get accepted onto The Knowledge than it does to get a PH Licence?

The Mayor: The licence application process for both taxi and private hire drivers is complex, multi-staged and often iterative, which can involve requests for further information or clarity from applicants. As set out in my response to Mayor’s Question 0159/2019, there are also a number of elements in the licensing process that are outside of Transport for London’s (TfL’s) control.
For example, the medical fitness of applicants must be assessed, and applicants must undergo an enhanced DBS check through the Disclosure and Barring Service within timescales outside of TfL’s control.
Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and, in each case, TfL must be satisfied that the applicant is a fit and proper person to be licensed.
As stated in my response to Mayor’s Question 2019/0160, the average time it takes to be accepted onto the Knowledge of London is around 68 days. It is currently taking, on average, 189 days for Transport for London (TfL) to process a new private hire driver’s licence applications.
TfL will always prioritise renewal applications for both trades. The average time it takes for a private hire driver to renew their licence is 50 days and for taxi drivers is 45 days.

Private Hire Drivers’ Topographical Assessment (1)

David Kurten: What is the failure rate for the Private Hire Drivers’ Topographical Assessment?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) allows applicants an opportunity to resit the assessment if they fail. If an applicant fails their subsequent retest, their private hire driver’s licence application will be withdrawn and they will need to submit a new one in order to sit the assessment again.
From October 2016 to February 2019, the pass rate for the London private hire drivers’ topographical skills assessment was as follows:

Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing

Caroline Pidgeon: What are your views on the Government response to the Department for Transport report on Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Licensing, and will you continue lobbying for changes including the ability to set a cap on the total number of licensed private hire vehicles?

The Mayor: I welcome the Government’s support for the introduction of national minimum standards, a national database and greater enforcement powers. I also welcome the commitment to back the regulation of pedicabs.
Government has committed to further exploring Transport for London’s (TfL) proposals on cross border hiring which is encouraging but greater urgency is needed. TfL published a detailed policy paper in February 2018 which sets out how greater controls could be introduced and I urge Government to make these legislative changes.
I firmly believe that a statutory definition of plying for hire and pre-booked services is needed to make the distinction clearer between taxi and private hire services and to maintain a two-tier system. I also urge Government to rethink its position on introducing a cap on the number of private hire vehicles and drivers. My Deputy Mayor for Transport made our position clear to the Minister when she spoke to her on the day the Government published their response. Far from being anti-competitive, a cap would enhance working conditions for drivers and lead to much better services for passengers. These additional recommendations were supported in the Task and Finish Group’s report and I am therefore disappointed that they are not being taken forward. We urge Government to think again.

Well Being and Exam Stress

Jennette Arnold: In the light of recent reports highlighting exam stress among pupils1, how are you supporting young people’s mental wellbeing in school?

1https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/dec/27/exam-stress-creating-troubled-generation-ex-civil-service-chief-gus-odonnell

The Mayor: I am continuing to work with Local Authorities and the NHS to develop London-wide tools to help support young Londoners, acting on the concerns raised about our young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Further details of this can be found here www.london.gov.uk/mental-health-school.
My Healthy Schools London programme supports schools to focus on the mental health and wellbeing of pupils, and I recently wrote to London headteachers providing a toolkit of resources they can use to support the young people in their care. I am also funding the roll out of Youth Mental Health First Aid across all state schools In London.

Transport for London Bus Days

Jennette Arnold: In your answer to question 2019/0279 you stated that last year Transport for London held 71 bus days for 3,280 service users. How do Londoners apply to attend a bus day, and how many Londoners applied to Bus Days last year but were unable to gain a place, if any?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s Travel Mentoring Service coordinates a number of regular ‘bus days’ across London. These give disabled Londoners opportunities to try out a journey on a London bus in more safeguarded environment. An out-of-service bus follows a pre-planned route and participants board and alight, accompanied by travel mentors and members of the local Safer Transport Teams.
Bus days are available to disabled children and adults, and are publicised through local boroughs. People interested in attending can contact the Travel Mentoring Service at [emailprotected] or on 020 3054 4361 (Monday to Friday 9:00-16:00).
Bus Days are available in most London boroughs, and TfL does not have any records of customers who have been unable to gain a place following a request. Requests are usually accommodated or customers are offered one-to-one travel mentoring support, where this is judged to be more appropriate. TfL is about to develop bus days in some boroughs where they are not currently available. In the meantime, where a customer wishes to attend a bus day but one is not available in their borough, arrangements can be made for them to attend an event in a neighbouring borough.

Distraction for taxi and private drivers

Caroline Pidgeon: In answer to Question 2018/1726 you stated that you have asked TfL to look into the issue of drivers and riders being distracted by mobile devices, apps and sat navs. You further stated that workshops with key stakeholders, and from a number of industries, will be held to understand the use of electronic devices whilst driving and to explore solutions to the potential distraction these devices pose. Please set out what has been the outcome of these workshops and whether TfL will now consider additional research on this issue or licence conditions.

The Mayor: This work is underway. Transport for London (TfL) is developing an approach and drafting key objectives for these sessions, which will be held as one to one or workshop sessions for key stakeholders. These will inform understanding of how electronic devices are being used while driving, the implications of this and how best TfL can respond to any issues identified. Once these sessions have taken place, TfL will provide you with details of the outcomes and any further actions to be taken forward.